Forget teeth whitening or veneers, women in Senegal are their quest for beautiful smiles to extreme levels - by tattooing their gums black.

Women in the west African country say their ancestors have been doing it for years and claim as well as giving a whiter smile, the procedure also protects the gums and stops bad breath.

The procedure was not well known internationally until recently when a video emerged showing a woman called Mariéme who goes under the needle.

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Seven layers of the mixture are pricked into the gums with a needle

The woman's gums are tattooed with a mixture of burnt oil and shea butter

The tattooist said black gums and a silver tooth are more attractive than red gums

More than 17,000 people have watched Mariéme endure the painful process online.

Mariéme said she had became 'obsessed' with the idea of getting her gums tattooed in order to achieve the perfect smile.

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She pays a woman, who works from her family home, just 80p to tattoo a combination of burnt oil and shea butter into her gums.

The mixture is at first pressed onto her gums before a needle is repeatedly pricked into it.

VIDEO Not for the squeamish. Senegalese women get agonising gum tattoos